Kayvee Tiaren is the author of Macabrarium, a psychological thriller published in early 2014. Her novel can be found on Amazon US and Amazon UK.

A lot of people came up to me after my novel, Macabrarium, came out. Amongst the stream of “How did you find the time?” (“I made time.”) and the “Where did you find this idea from?” (“In my head.”), there was one question that stuck out: “You’re a female. How can you even write like a male?” My novel’s main character was a male named Chris. The question came off without any upwards inflections, actually. It just sounded like a statement; there was no question about it. I, as a female, could not possibly encapsulate the intricacies of the male mind. And to be fair, there was no way that I ever could fully understand life as a male, but try I did. Here’s five ways a girl tried to write like she was a male:1.Do field work. Go talk to your brother. Realize that perhaps he mumbles far too much for you to write “Then Chris mumbled” in your manuscript. So you seek out your father and learn that he thinks you don’t have enough time or ideas to even write a novel in the first place. 2.Watch “Mulan” and “Mrs. Doubtfire” repeatedly.Pick up on some nuances between behaving as a male and behaving as a female. Try to translate the visual and auditory effects into writing while you stroke your beard.3. Change absolutely nothing about how you would write the character.I can’t fully understand life as a male. But there was one thing I did understand: my main character, Chris. I know that Chris’s internal vocabulary primarily consists of opprobrious and offensive terms. I know that Chris can afford only cheap beer and those he cares about are far and few, and he would rather keep it that way. If Chris was a llama, you can bet that I would be touting all about the benefits of pastures full of fresh grass.Honestly, there is no secret. It’s not about writing in certain terms of a “he” or a “she.” It’s about writing as your character.